Dr. Fauquet is a leading expert on virus taxonomy and on the biological diversity and control of plant viruses. With a goal of helping developing countries improve their agricultural production in a sustainable manner, he is leading ILTAB to develop the techniques and products of tropical plant biotechnology and to transfer knowledge and resources to developing countries. Three major crops chosen to act as a core for the research activities are rice, cassava and the tomato. Research projects have also been initiated on yam, sweet potato, cotton, sugarcane, and a number of other tropical and sub-tropical crop species.